New water quality lab opens to help monitor river

Members of the public will be able to have tests carried out at the new lab

A new facility helping to monitor the water quality of the River Wey in Surrey has opened.

The Water Rangers Community Water Lab is at the new base of Zero Carbon Guildford, in the High Street.

It will carry out tests for bugs such as E. coli, in collaboration with the University of Surrey.

Kat Kavanagh, executive director at Water Rangers, said the main goal of the lab was to "lower barriers for communities to get answers to their questions about water quality".

She said: "We have been monitoring chemistry for two years, and those tests are so important for understanding ecosystem health."

Ms Kavanagh said most people have questions about "human health", such as "is it safe to swim?".

"To answer that, you need to test for E. coli," she said.

Water rangers have been carrying out tests on the River Wey for two years

The water rangers said members of the public would be able to use the community-led lab's services at a fraction of the cost of a professional lab.

The programme has been launched in association with the River Wey Trust, South East Rivers Trust and the Rivers Trust.

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